LVMH-Owned Cruise Retailer Starboard Moves On Land Amid Management Shuffle

Miami-based Starboard is taking its retailing expertise into land-based resorts following its partial sale by LVMH to Gissy Investments. Together, they operate the business through a joint venture called Global Travel Retail Holdings.

Gissy Investments is led by real estate mogul Jim Gissy, who is executive vice president of the privately held timeshare business Westgate Resorts. A move into Westgate properties was therefore a strong probability, as reported at the time of the acquisition.

Yesterday, Starboard confirmed its entry into Westgate Resorts, of which there are 22 around the United States. Branded boutiques are set to land by the end of 2024 and early 2025. Westgate's locations are strategically positioned: six are in Orlando close to Walt Disney World Resort, Magic Kingdom Park, and Universal Studios; three are near the hugely popular Dollywood in Tennessee; and two are in Las Vegas. Most of the rest are on or near the U.S. east coast.

A spokesperson for Starboard told me on Friday that its shops will initially launch at just the two Westgate locations in Las Vegas in Q4. They said: "As we do for our cruise line partners, we are curating a product assortment that is aligned with the demographic of Westgate's Las Vegas guests and relevant to the destination. More details on the shopping experience will be shared closer to launch."

"We've reflected on the key drivers of our future success, focusing on strengthening our core cruise business while venturing into new channels. This includes our entry into land-based retail this year," explained Starboard's president and CEO Lisa Bauer.

Management shuffle

With the addition of a land-based operation, Starboard has created a three-pillar structure and becomes Starboard Group. The three business units—Starboard Cruise, Starboard Luxury, and Starboard Resort—will be led by Bauer but with some senior changes.

Stacy Shaw has been named senior vice president for the luxury and resorts divisions expanding her remit from solely luxury where she has been in charge for almost five years.

Meanwhile, Lisa Kauffman has been named chief marketing and experience officer, leading a new 'retailtainment' department. It will be focused on delivering more engaging events and activations, improved retail environments, digital experiences, and e-commerce. Kauffman is now actively seeking a head of retailtainment based in Miami.

Starboard Group is working on delivering a marketplace e-commerce solution on land and at sea pre-, during, and post-vacation through a platform solution from ONE (Open Network Exchange) whose products are focused on the travel and leisure industry.

Lastly, six-year Starboard veteran Sherrie Day has been named head of private brand and product development leading the charge to expand assortments of exclusive product offerings to create differentiation between cruise and land partners.

Starboard has also put key cruise portfolios in the hands of three VP/general managers: Claudia King-McWilliams for Royal Caribbean and Asia; Stuart Breen for Carnival Cruise Line, Virgin Voyages, and TUI Cruises; and Ivette Pimentel for Celebrity Cruises and Holland America.

On a growth drive

Going on land with Westgate Resorts as the first of several possible future partners will help diversify Starboard's income. According to Bauer, the company "is experiencing tremendous growth" referring to post-pandemic contract awards of additional ships with existing partners like Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, and Royal Caribbean, as well as new clients like TUI and Blue Dream.

Bauer added: "This growth has also been fueled as we've scaled key merchandising strategies including vintage handbags and watches, fine jewelry including the first at-sea introduction of Engrace lab-grown diamonds, fashion jewelry, and pop-ups."

Today, Starboard is on more than 90 ships across 15 cruise line partners while its main rival, Britain's Harding+, operates more than 250 stores on over 100 ships across more than 17 cruise partners. The latter company has experienced some senior staffing instability . The latest to jump ship was Peter Newbould who lasted seven months as chief commercial officer before joining France's Lagardère Travel Retail as the CEO of its U.K. and Ireland business.

Starboard is unique among cruise travel retailers like Harding+, Avolta, or Heinemann in having a dedicated luxury division; a parent that is a luxury conglomerate does not hurt in this respect. The division was created in 2019, servicing, at the time, five Silversea ships and two Crystal ships.

Starboard's spokesperson said: "During the pandemic, Crystal ceased operations but as the industry came back to life in 2021 we expanded our partnership with Silversea to include all ocean and expedition vessels—a total of 11; launched Crystal with entirely new owners, and added Azamara, Scenic, The Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection, and Mitsui."

In three years, the division has grown from servicing two cruise lines to six, and from seven ships to 23. "With each partner, we have driven significantly more revenue as we transformed the offering to be curated specifically for luxury travelers," added the spokesperson. There has been a heavy emphasis on artisans and local goods from destinations around the world.

Given Stacy Shaw's extended remit to include running the resorts division as well as luxury, it is likely that dedicated luxury offers at some Westgate locations might be on the cards although Starboard did not comment on this.